Wednesday, May 24, 2017

I am honored to be working with the folks at Sustainable Souls Project for the month of May. I can think of no more important theme for LIFE than the idea of sustainability. That word has ramifications extending into every aspect of life. Harkening from:

Sustain + Ability

I am kind of a word geek, ok, not kind of. At any rate, I did a bit of research to find out what this word means and it appears there isn't a true consensus. In a nutshell, it means, "the ability to be maintained at a certain level or rate." Of course, most people use this word in connection with our environment. The definition I really love is, "the ability to be sustained, supported, upheld or confirmed. " There is something about those words supported and upheld that ring true to me and I imagine our vast planet being held in hands and hearts worldwide.

But I digress and you probably stopped by to see what I made, not hear me blab on and on......this month, May 2017, we are talking about Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle, which are topics near and dear to my heart.

For art making, I reuse materials such as paint stained paper towels, scraps of paper, garbage (ie, treasures) I find on the ground, old paper plate palettes, junk mail, magazines, well, I think you get the idea.

For this project, I pulled out some precious scraps and paired them up with existing paintings that needed something. You know, those unfinished pieces hanging around your studio? The ones that need a little sumpin' sumpin' to make them complete? Well, in my case, it was a couple of pieces I had done with oil and cold wax. I hadn't gotten around to completing them and the idea of adding some collage really appealed to me.

Incredibly, I had JUST the perfect scraps for each painting, don't you love it when that happens?

I cut and tore snips here and there. Punches are my friend, especially making circles from the sturdy paper plates. You probably already know this but turn your punch upside down to 'crop' the best parts. And don't forget your old fashioned office hole punch, I love tiny little circles especially painted ones.

And before you know it, voila! A security envelope here punched circles and circle waste there, some deli discards.....who woulda thunk? They are done for now, but I reserve the right to continue to work on them.....ahem.....